Saturday, June 22, 2013

Herald Makes It Official: Not Worst Team Ever

The Marlins have won their first two over the World Champ San Francisco Giants. Logan Morrison is showing power (!). Pitching is looking decent. Stanton is healthy. Ozuna showing promise again after rookie slump. And they've won 6 of their last 10.
The Herald's Clark Spencer, a top-notch pro, summed up the 2013 Marlins this way: "The Marlins didn’t blossom miraculously into the 1927 New York Yankees during the Heat’s title run in the NBA playoffs. Neither did they continue wilting into the 1962 New York Mets.
"Theey are neither historically good, nor historically bad," Spencer wrote.
"The Marlins still own the worst record in the majors. But historians can probably stop making daily comparisons to the ’62 Mets, who went 40-120. The Marlins would have to go 17-71 over their next 88 games to match the modern-day mark for futility," Spencer concluded.
Well, I must confess that at the beginning of this season, this disgruntled fan found some kind of solace in the idea that the team wasn't just bad, but really really really bad. Why watch a miserable team when you can bask in the thought you are witnessing history? And so I (a history major in college) started comparing them to the '62 New York Mets.
Now, now ... well, now we're just back in heartbreak city, looking for glimmers of hope, potential in the young guys, rejoining the fans of all the other lousy teams of all time, the Cubs, the Pirates, the Padres, the Washington Senators. Once again, we're back to praying that the front office doesn't find a new way to screw things up.
Will more fans be attracted to the super-expensive ballpark where the Marlins are desperately giving away free seats? My friend Orlando has another free Sir Pizza coupon and we still haven't take advantage of those free tickets on Thursdays for old farts.
And maybe, just maybe, the Cuban guy who used to sell hot dogs outside the Clevelander entrance will be able to resume earning a living. Or maybe Miami fans will just gloat in the Heat victory and sit around watching LeBron inteviews.